On JRE MMA Show #177, Joe Rogan sat down with mixed martial artists John Rallo, Matt Serra, and Din Thomas for a MMA conversation. Near the end of the episode, Rogan turned his attention to the upcoming UFC event scheduled for the White House lawn.
“The idea of them competing outside in Washington DC in the middle of the summer is crazy to me,” he said. “You ask someone to dehydrate themselves, to cut weight. Think about Gaethje. Gaethje is going to cut. He’s got to cut to get to 155 lbs [70.3 kg]. Ilia probably doesn’t have to cut too much, but you’re competing for the world title and you’re competing outside.”
The card’s start time had been moved from noon to 8:00 p.m. Eastern, a change one guest noted as an improvement. Rogan was not entirely convinced.
“That’s a little better, but it can rain,” he said. “It could easily rain. There’s going to be bugs. Imagine getting lit up by mosquitoes while you’re mounting a guy.”
He offered a blunt summary of outdoor matches in general: “Bouts outside are a mess. It’s a terrible idea. I ha te it.”
His larger concern was the integrity of competition at the world title level. He stated, “If you’re competing in an elite world championship level, you should be competing in a controlled environment. It’s already a problem enough to compete. Why cause the extra factors?”
Rogan also raised the issue of summer heat in the Washington D.C. area and what it could mean for athletes who had cut weight.
He stated, “It also might severely impair someone who’s gone through a big weight cut if it’s really hot out. We looked it up. It was like 100 degrees on that same date last year.”
When a guest pushed back, noting that both athletes would face the same conditions, Rogan held his position.
He said, “It’s not fair because people deal with them differently. If you’re having world championship matches where you’re going to decide who’s the best in the world, it should be in a controlled environment.”
Din Thomas confirmed he received clearance and would attend regardless of his objections. “I just got the call for clearance. I’m going,” he said.
